How learning about the nature of your thoughts can improve work performance – Empire Fighting Chance share their tips on gaining mental resilience and how this can help you and your workplace.
The award-winning mental health charity Empire Fighting Chance are well known for their outstanding work with disadvantaged young people – enabling many to return to education or to gain employment. This groundbreaking charity uses a unique combination of boxing and personal development to gain notable results.
Sam Kotadia – Performance Coach and Lead Author explains,
“Trying to manage our thoughts feelings and emotions is a constant challenge. Constantly seeking good feelings creates another pressure on the mind. For example; acts of anti-social behaviour with the kids we work with will often arise when they feel angry about feeling angry. We help our young people to develop the mental resilience to not mind feeling insecure when they experience negative emotions. When they are reminded by our coaches it is normal and part of the human condition to feel a full-spectrum of emotions; it’s a relief for them. Consequently they gain more control over their behaviour and develop healthier life patterns. Our programme is now being delivered to corporations, demonstrating that the principles we share are universal“.
Here are some of the principles that are helping the young people at Empire Fighting Chance that can also benefit you and your colleagues in the workplace:
Leave your thoughts alone.
Is it healthier to leave your thoughts alone instead of constantly trying to change them?
Battling with negative thoughts and thinking that we must be positive, adds another pressure to the mind. Leave your thoughts alone; they will move on by themselves.
Focus on Action.
Is over-thinking your problems helpful?
When we over-think our worries and anxieties our focus narrows. This blocks our capacity to identify healthy solutions and take action. When employee’s minds focus on action they are more resourceful when they are placed under pressure.
Set mini goals.
When you are struggling to find motivation should you set yourself big goals, or small targets?
Setting mini-goals builds momentum and self-confidence. The focus should be on taking action. Achieving goals; however big or small they are, creates healthy flow in our lives. A workplace culture that focuses on positive actions and not outcomes breeds a happy and productive workplace.
Understand that moods naturally change.
If you don’t mind feeling negative, would you feel more of less stable?
We will experience positive and negative thoughts throughout our lifetimes. Not minding that our moods naturally ebb and flow will make us more mentally resilient.
Be aware of your mood and how it affects your decisions.
Does your mood affect how you see the world?
If we can learn to not trust our thinking when we are in a bad mood, we are more likely to make healthy decisions when the dust settles. Understanding the relationship between mood and behaviour encourages employees not to blame circumstances during stressful situations.
Realize that everyone has talent.
Does your mental health benefit by being assigned to a personality type?
Seeing personality types and character traits as constantly changing prevents us from limiting ourselves. New skills and ways of thinking are always achievable. Psychologist Carol Dweck shows that corporations who see the potential in everyone, develop talent far quicker.